A simple demonstration of sympathetic vibration may be made with a piano. Hold down the key above middle c while giving middle c a short thump. You will then hear many notes of the harmonic series, including the 2nd and 3rd c octaves and at least one fifth. The number of harmonics you will then hear will depend on how well the piano is tuned, its stringing and how attentive you are! As you strive to hear more harmonics your ear will become more sensitive. If you hold down the sustaining pedal you may be able to distinguish even more sounds. Each drone string produces its own harmonic series, one with C as the fundamental while the other has G (or D and G), with each series being more or less dissonant or consonant with that of the other, which is why the drones give such a rich sound. In addition, the harmonic series of each note of the melody string is more or less dissonant or consonant with the drones. This is one reason why our apparently simple instrument is so rich and magical. To make the most of this effect the whole instrument must be tuned as accurately as possible, avoiding equal temperament, which will spoil the effect. The maximum beauty of sound is best heard in slow melodies when minor tunes can become quite haunting. MP _____
From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: 10 February 2012 08:14 To: Digest Recipients Subject: [HG-new] Digest for [email protected] - 1 Message in 1 Topic Today's Topic Summary Group: <http://groups.google.com/group/hurdygurdy/topics> http://groups.google.com/group/hurdygurdy/topics * Tuning sympathetics [1 Update] <http://groups.google.com/group/hurdygurdy/t/d83b3521a7900cdb> Tuning sympathetics Norman Sohl <[email protected]> Feb 09 04:24PM -0800 Hard to answer that without going into the details of string acoustics, however there is plenty on the web (and some good books) that cover the subject. Here is my humble simplification- . Any even, well made string will vibrate at several frequencies at one time when excited. This is why different material strings sound differently when tuned to the same note - the strings are producing roughly the same set of frequencies but in different amounts which makes them have different timbre. . This set of frequencies is usually a "harmonic series" based on the fundamental vibration of the string (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harmonic_series_(music)). The harmonic series of a sympathetic string tuned to c includes the notes c, c' (octave of c), g', c'', e'' g'', etc. . This means that a sympathetic string tuned to c can sound when excited by a tone at any of those frequencies. . The power of a harmonic usually drops off as the frequency goes up, so you may not be able to hear some of the higher harmonics. . Thinner strings resonate at higher harmonics more easily than thick strings. To answer your question, this means that two strings tuned an octave apart will resonate at slightly different notes. I imagine that the tuning of other harmonics is chosen in order to fill in the set of other possible resonances. Because of this you don't need a string for every note, assuming that you have selected your sympathetic tuning to match your instruments key. -Hope that helps more than it confuses! --Norm From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Augusto de Ornellas Abreu Sent: Wednesday, February 08, 2012 6:38 PM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: [HG-new] Tuning sympathetics What is the point of having sympathetic strings tuned to a same note, but on different octaves? Won't they vibrate sympathetically the same way?? Isn't this how they are supposed to work, why tuning them to different octaves? On Thu, Feb 9, 2012 at 12:27 AM, Rob <[email protected]> wrote: Hi! This is from Mel Dorries (sent to me off list): "We do rather like sympathetic strings around here for the fullness of tone and overtone they introduce to an instrument. We set ours up on the Maestro to accent the most common notes like g, d, c, a, b flat, e flat with a sat least 2 -3 strings for g, d, and c in different octives. Much is personal preferance and accomodation to the key one wants to play in primarily." PEACE! Rob Cherwink mail: [email protected] home: http://robertcherwink.com blogs: whats up nuclear blog > http://rceezwhatsup.blogspot.com what it is photo blog > http://rceezwhatitis.blogspot.com whats more art & studies blog > http://rceezwhatzmore.blogspot.com/ what next news & random blog > http://rceezwhatnext.blogspot.com/ youtube channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/robertcherwink facebook: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1213823206 twitter: http://twitter.com/r_cherwink On Feb 8, 2012, at 4:24 PM, Felicia Dale wrote: Thank you all for your very helpful suggestions! I really appreciate all the input and I look forward to try tuning my sympathetics this evening. Felicia. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "hurdygurdy" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] <mailto:hurdygurdy%[email protected]> For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/hurdygurdy The rules of posting, courtesy, and other list information may be found at http://hurdygurdy.com/mailinglist/index.htm. To reduce spam, posts from new subscribers are held pending approval by the webmaster. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "hurdygurdy" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] <mailto:hurdygurdy%[email protected]> For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/hurdygurdy The rules of posting, courtesy, and other list information may be found at http://hurdygurdy.com/mailinglist/index.htm. To reduce spam, posts from new subscribers are held pending approval by the webmaster. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "hurdygurdy" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/hurdygurdy The rules of posting, courtesy, and other list information may be found at http://hurdygurdy.com/mailinglist/index.htm. To reduce spam, posts from new subscribers are held pending approval by the webmaster. You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Group hurdygurdy. You can <mailto:[email protected]> post via email. To unsubscribe from this group, <mailto:[email protected]> send an empty message. For more options, <http://groups.google.com/group/hurdygurdy/topics> visit this group. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "hurdygurdy" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/hurdygurdy The rules of posting, courtesy, and other list information may be found at http://hurdygurdy.com/mailinglist/index.htm. To reduce spam, posts from new subscribers are held pending approval by the webmaster. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "hurdygurdy" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/hurdygurdy The rules of posting, courtesy, and other list information may be found at http://hurdygurdy.com/mailinglist/index.htm. To reduce spam, posts from new subscribers are held pending approval by the webmaster.
